If singing birds must sing…

This is just lovely, discovered by Bjorn. Joakim Milder leading the Danish Radio Big Band with Swedish singer Lisa Nilsson in the most wonderful version of Nightingales.

Thirty years ago, when I drifted from listening to showtunes and big bands into Prefab Sprout, this was the song that really piqued my interest. At the end of the first side, I would often find myself lifting the needle but not turning the disc over, going back to listen to what sounded like a standard.

Can’t you just hear Streisand singing this? In some fortunate parallel universe, of course, she is.

10 thoughts

  1. This rendition of ”Nightingales” is truly divinely superfluous beauty. Big thanks to Joakim Milder and Lisa Nilsson!

  2. i can imagine many, many Sprout-masterworks played and sung by great bigbands or so in a jazzy kinda style…
    🙂

  3. Just magical – can we get Joakim Milder leading the Danish Radio Big Band with Swedish singer Lisa Nilsson over to London somehow.?

    Where there any other songs that night? What show is this from?

    thanks

    1. This was broadcast April 21, 2018 on DR K – the title of the show is “DR Big Band og Lisa Nilsson” (“og” means “and”). Unfortunately there is no track list available but the description says that Lisa Nilsson “presents her own favourites among soul, jazz and Brazilian rhythms”. The show is available online until April 2019 but only if you have a Danish IP address: https://www.dr.dk/tv/se/tvoeko-drbb-lisa-nilsson-marts-2018/-/dr-big-band-og-lisa-nilsson

  4. Great stuff. The album Joakim did ‘Quoted Out of Context’ is a wonderful listen too. He shows a great love and respect for Paddy’s music and is able to breath new life into already rich material.

  5. love this – very classy arrangement… it highlights Paddy’s exceptional melodies – it sounds like a Cole Porter standard!

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